Hidden Lives, Uncovered Truths
by Otaku-Jeannie
Summary: When Jounouchi luck hits rock bottom, he accidentally discovers a secret of Seto’s. Will his luck change, or will and fate even more horrible than he imagine await him? Yaoi
1. Chapter 1

Untitled

By: OtakuJeannie

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Violence, gore, Shonen ai/Yaoi mentioned Het.

Pairings: Jounouchi/Mai, Seto/Jounouchi

Summery: When Jounouchi luck hits rock bottom, he accidentally discovers a secret of Seto's. Will his luck change, or will and fate even more horrible than he imagine await him?

Notes: A special thanks to Mom of Fluff and Fluffier for the bunnie. As always C&C greatly apreciated

Jounouchi wearily trudged up the stairs to his apartment, each step a battle. Mai's words kept ringing through his head while he fought back tears. Jou had asked Mai out tonight, wanting to further their relationship by committing to going exclusively together. Jou had even started working a second part-time job in the evenings to afford take Mai to some nice places, as a lady like her deserved.

Unfortunately, his efforts were in vain. Mai had instead decided to break up with him, saying that she needed something that Jounouchi couldn't give her. What that something was, Jou had no idea only that her rejection had hurt deeply. Jou had lost his temper and yelled at her. Mai, never one to take crap for anyone, had yelled back not pulling any punches with her cutting insults. Jounouchi wound up storming out, unable to hit Mai but not wanting to hear anymore of her hurtful words. Was there any possibility of salvaging their relationship now? It seemed impossible, especially after Mai told him that he should forget her number and that she would not answer any call from Jou

Jounouchi shuffled into the small, dirty apartment he shared with his father not wanting to even try and think about tonight's disaster anymore. The quiet told Jou that he was alone, probably for the entire night again. With that thought, Jou flopped down onto a worn and beaten sofa to wallow in his misery, this night could not get any worse.

Seto crept through the back door of his mansion, carefully avoiding being either heard or seen. He wasn't so much worried about the staff seeing him as most of them had worked under Gozaburo, who did not tolerate nosey servants. With his wealth and power Kaiba could easily made sure that his secrets stayed that way, but still he didn't really want to take any chances after what had happened not more than two hours ago. With a satisfied smirk, Seto closed the door to his room and pulled out a pair of sky blue boxer shorts.

"Where have you been Niisama?" Mokuba demanded from his perch at the end of Seto's bed. Seto turned around to face his angry younger brother.

"I was out." Seto answered curtly. He was slightly annoyed at Mokuba, even though his younger brother was simply worried. With a tired sigh, Seto smiled and ran his fingers affectionately through Mokuba's long dark hair. "What are you doing up so late?" Seto asked affectionately

"You have a few messages, Niisama." Mokuba announced cheerfully as he watched Seto dress for bed. "Kisara wants to talk with you about something, she said it might be important."

"Kisara can wait, I had other things to take care of." Since before he'd ever been conceived, Seto had been engaged to Kisara (who likewise had yet to be conceived). When they had first met, Seto and Kisara had not gotten along well, something that remained to this day. However, despite that, Mokuba insisted that Seto at least try and love her because they were going to be married someday.

"But it might be about the wedding. The elders say that it needs to happen soon." Mokuba added thoughtfully. "How can you be so mean to your future wife?"

Seto nearly laughed at his brother's innocent question. He knew for a fact that Kisara dreaded their wedding day as much as he did, if not more.

"I suppose you're right," Seto scooped up Mokuba in his arms and began carrying him down the hall to his own room "I will call her the first thing when I wake up. Now is there anything else you needed?"

"Yeah, Seto I'm going to have to eat soon." Mokuba announced with a yawn. He slumped against Seto's chest as he was carried to his bed. Once there, Seto pulled back the covers, gently laid Mokuba on the bed and covered him up.

"I'll call the agency then and they'll take care of it. Now get some sleep Mokuba." Seto kissed Mokuba on the forehead and headed back to his own bed.

"G'night Niisama." Mokuba murmured sleepily as rolled over and drifted off to sleep.

Seto walked quickly and purposefully to his room, shut and locked the door. Seto then went over to his desk and picked up the phone and dialed a number he knew form heart. The phone rang for seven times, then the other side picked up.

"Hello there, Mister Kaiba. I take it that you want another pair of temps sent to the estate?" A wheezy voice rasped on the telephone.

"Just one and try and make sure there are no attachments this time, the police talked to me about the last pair you sent." Seto answered curtly even as he tried to be patient. Bruin was old and likely going senile, something Seto did not relish happening, as it would be hard to replace him.

"How soon do you need 'em then?" A coughing fit had apparently overtaken Bruin as he hacked and wheezed pitifully into the phone. Seto held the phone at arm's length until the fit stopped, about five minutes later."

"As soon as you find a qualified subject. Call me when you get one, goodnight." Seto listened to the old man's reassurance that he would soon have what he needed and that all was in good hands before a click told him that Bruin was gone.

With a sigh of relief, Seto walked over to his bed and sank gratefully into it. He yawned loudly and ran his hands through his chestnut hair until he discovered something tangled in it. He pulled back his hand feeling the long hair as he pulled it free. With a satisfied smile, Seto looked at the long, wavy blonde hair in between his fingers twirling idly.

For a moment, Seto wondered if he should get rid of the thing but decided to keep the hair as a trophy instead. With a few quick movements of his fingers, the hair was wrapped into a neat little loop, which dropped onto his nightstand. As he waited for sleep to overtake him, Seto wondered where Bruin would find his next temporary worker.

Jounouchi didn't realize that he'd fallen asleep until a pounding on the door abruptly woke him. Jounouchi yawned and blinked noticing that it was morning and that his neck was protesting the awkward position it had been bent into all night. With a reluctant groan, he rose form the battered armchair he'd wound up sleeping in and shuffled to the door. Jounouchi opened the door to reveal two uniformed officers standing in the hallway.

"Are you Katsuya Jounouchi?" A large, muscular middle-aged man asked. Behind him, the other officer, a lanky guy with buzz-cut hair and a very grim look on his face.

"Yeah, why do you want to know?" Jou asked defensively, starting to get creped out at the way the tall cop was looking at him.

"I am Officer Hiraoka and this is my partner Officer Eibisawa. We are terribly sorry to have to tell you this young man, but we need you to come downtown with us. Half an hour ago, someone reported a body on the side of the highway and the ID found on the body reads Taro Jounouchi." The lanky officer said as if reading off of a script. Jounouchi leaned against the door, unable to handle what he had just been told. His father...dead?

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

Hidden Lives, Uncovered Truths

By: OtakuJeannie

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Violence, gore, Shonen ai/Yaoi, mentioned Het, AU, Character death

Pairings: Jounouchi/Mai, Seto/Jounouchi

Summery: When Jounouchi's luck hits rock bottom, he accidentally discovers a secret of Seto's. Will his luck change, or will he suffer an even more horrible fate?

Notes: A special thanks to Mom of Fluff and Fluffier for the bunnie and all of her help.

Ryota Kajiki was grateful to be alive as he clung to the wheel of his small boat. There had been a bad storm last night that he'd had the misfortune to get caught in. Fortunately, both he and his vessel survived with only a few scrapes after the experience, but now Ryota needed to find land. He wanted to make sure that his boat had no hidden damage that would make itself known when he was out in the middle of the ocean.

It seemed that luck was still with Ryota as the first golden rays of the sunrise fell across the deck and illuminated land, just a short distance from where he was. With a grateful smile, Ryota set his course towards land when something caught his eye.

In one of the piles of debris that littered the deck, Ryota spied an unusual streak of yellow. Intrigued, Ryota walked over to the pile noticing that the golden streak seemed to be hair. A deep sense of foreboding overcame Ryota as he reached out one trembling hand and picked up the hair.

The hair came up easily at first, but pulled when it ran out of slack, Ryota cringed and was tempted to just let the hair drop but then decided he had to know what was in the pile so that he would know what to do next.

Bracing himself for the worst, Ryota pulled on the hair until he found himself staring into a pair of lifeless violet eyes. Its hair lay tangled around the once pretty face, which had strips of flesh missing revealing parts of the skull beneath. A few drops of congealing blood dripped onto the deck below with an audible plop. Ryouta's mind went bank as panic took over, the head fell from his fingers and fell to the floor with a thud. His screams could be heard for about half a mile away.

Jounouchi fell to his knees and began to dislodge his meager dinner form the night before, felling a little guilty as he did so. Jounouchi had to be revived once before the mortician had uncovered the body and twice after so that he could give them the conformation they needed to officially file his father as dead.

Officer Hiraoka walked off in of in search of some paper towels while Isiki; the mortician went find a janitor. It seemed like an eternity for Jounouchi as he knelt there and vomited until the heaves gave way to sobs. Eibisawa stepped to the side, leaned over and pulled Jounouchi to his feet. Hiraoka handed him a handful of paper towels.

"It was your first time seeing a dead body wasn't it, kid." Hiraoka asked sympathetically.

Jounouchi wanted to reply but couldn't stop crying as he thought of his father laying mangled on a cold slab. "Real bitch that it was your own father." Hiraoka said bitterly guiding him towards a restroom.

Jounouchi leaned on the rim of the sink and pulled the handle for the cold water, cupped his hands, filled them and rinsed the taste of vomit form his mouth. A second handful he drank eagerly, after that was done Jou splashed water on his face and reached for the paper towels to dry his face with. To his surprise, the dispenser was empty.

"Here." Eibisawa said as he pulled a handkerchief from under his uniform jacket and held it out to Jou, who took it gratefully. "I think we should let him get some rest and let him come back to fill out the paperwork later, don't you agree, Hiraoka?" Jounouchi looked up from the sink, silently grateful to Eibisawa.

"Yes, that would be best Eibisawa. Do you remember the address?" Hiraoka replied and Jounouchi followed them back to the waiting squad car.

On the way out, Jounouchi noticed a van pull up. Instead of pulling out the stretcher, the driver got out and pulled open the morgue doors while the passenger opened the back of they pushed in a stretcher with small thick vinyl bag perched on top of it. Jou squeezed his eyes shut and hurried to the car.

Seto sat at his desk, not really reading the large book in his hands. In the back of the room he could hear Anzu and Honda talking while they waited for their friends to arrive. A furtive glance at the clock told Seto that class was due to start in five minutes. Seto looked up at the open doorway, searching for a trace of his desire to appear.

Yugi ran in just before the bell, looking a little confused and out of breath. Seto watched as the teacher walked to the front of the room and began her lecture. Seto put his book down and began pretending to listen and take notes.

Jounouchi hadn't come to school today, which was odd. Seto guessed that Jou had taken Mai's rejection badly. He felt a brief surge of guilt, but as he remembered his meeting with Mai last night he knew that he'd spared Jounouchi a lot of heartbreak.

It was nearly ten o'clock at night when Seto perched himself on a bolder and watched Mai Kujaku climb out of her car. In the moonlight Seto could see that Mai was dressed in something that didn't make her look like a hooker. She wore an emerald colored tank top with a matching fluttering skirt that fell to jut below her knees and a caramel-colored cashmere sweater. Mai's long wavy hair had been pulled up into a bun while she had exchanged her usual long lace-up boots for a pair of tan leather sandals. Seto looked down at the oversized navy blue towel he had wrapped around his hips and almost felt a little underdressed for his little meeting.

They were at a beachside resort some fifteen miles north of Domino City, though due to the steep mountains and cliffs took over an hour and a half to drive there. The resort was currently vacant due to a fire that had happened in March before the resort's annual opening. The only people there had been a caretaker and three security guards. No one had been hurt but the building had suffered major damage and was scheduled to be demolished in a matter of weeks.

Seto continued to watch as Mai finished her bottle and threw it onto the sand and wrinkled his nose in disgust.

"I never figured you for a lush." Seto remarked from behind the blonde woman, causing her to jump in surprise. Mai turned around and narrowed her eyes.

It was obvious to Seto that Mai had been crying recently and was still on the verge of more tears. After running Kaiba Corp. for so long, Seto had refined the art of reading body language accurately and right now it seemed all Mai wanted to do was go home and cry.

"Not like it's any of your business but I am not." Mai shot back angrily. "Besides, isn't it a little late to be going swimming or are you going for a moon tan?" Mai quipped cattily and crossed her arms over her chest.

"You right, it is none of my business. After all, there is no reason for me to have anything to do with the likes of you." Seto countered crossing his own arms and looking down his nose at Mai. Seto had put a lot of effort in luring her out here for this little meeting and decided to have a little fun before the hunger took over.

"What do you mean by that?" Mai asked uncrossing her arms, planning one balled hand on her hip and leaning forward. Seto almost laughed as her new position gave him full view of her cleavage.

"Your dueling skills are no challenge for my own. As for you other 'talents'," Seto replied with a pointed glance. "They hold no interest for me." Mai frowned at Seto's words but said nothing.

"There is only one thing that could make me waste my time talking about with you." Seto continued as he watched Mai try and control her temper.

"And what would that be?" Mai asked with an angry huff. "On second thought, I don't want to know." She added before flipping her hair and turning away.

"Jounouchi, the reason I had you meet me here Ms Kujaku." Seto murmured just loud enough for Mai to hear. Mai turned around in surprise, obviously not expecting him to be her blackmailer. "You shouldn't have tried to steal him form me." Seto continued accusingly.

For a second, Mai looked at Seto as if he had turned bright orange and grown an extra head. Seto grinned and laughed mockingly at her as he slid off of his rock.

"What does he have to do with anything? You and Jounouchi hate each other. Or is that it? You can't stand to see him happy with me while you can't even get a date with out paying for her first." Mai spat out angrily and tired to cross her arms until Seto grabbed her upper arm and dug his nails into her flesh. Mai cried out in agony and tried to twist away.

"You know nothing woman, but I will agree with you on one point. I don't have any claim to Jounouchi, yet. But that is going to change now that you are out of the picture." Seto said, watching the blood well up on Mai's arm and feeling the hunger grow within him. Mai screamed and tried to twist out of Seto's grasp but he was too strong for her. "But that does not excuse your actions concerning him."

"Let me go." Mai called out in desperation as she pounded her fist into Seto's shoulder. The brunette sneered and dug his fingernails tighter into Mai's arm. Mai groaned in pain, tears welling in her eyes. "I-I don't know what you are talking about." Mai pleaded while still trying to pull away.

"I am talking about your cute little plan to sleep around while keeping, as you so lovingly put it, 'my dumb little lovesick puppy on a short leash?' I belive you said." Seto hissed angrily while dragging Mai towards the ocean.

"You've been spying on me haven't you?" Mai accused before kicking Seto hard enough to make him loose his grip. She turned around and began running to her car as fast as she could manage.

Unfortunately for Mai, she didn't see the hole in the sand and went tumbling onto the sand below, twisting her ankle in the process. Seto walked up to where Mai lay on the ground and set his foot between her shoulder blades. She tried in vain to reach him with her hands before he ground his foot into her back, crushing her into the sand.

"I was going to let you continue with your delusion, play around with Jounouchi until the day I decided to claim him as my own." Seto told Mai as he watched the woman squirm beneath his feet. "But then you had to go and hurt him like that."

"Well you won." Mai replied bitterly. "I dumped him, just like you wanted. Now let me go." Seto chuckled and pressed against her back harder, causing Mai to groan in pain

"Why" Seto demanded as he dropped down on his knees. Mai whimpered in fear and pain.

"I wasn't going to go to jail just because the law still sees Jou as a kid." Mai admitted sadly. Seto scowled and grabbed the bun on the back of Mai's head and pulled sharply on it. All the fun had gone out of this meeting and now he simply longed to get it over with.

"And you don't?" Seto asked harshly, pulling on her hair. Mai cried out and once more tired to wiggle free of Seto's grasp.

"A little," Mai admitted, with a shame-filled sob. Seto responded by pulling even harder causing Mai to shriek in pain and start crying.

"Hn, Figures." Seto uttered irritably as he looked down at the sobbing Mai. He let go of her hair and grabbed her shoulders. "For once in your life, you can actually be useful." Seto sneered as he picked Mai up and headed towards the ocean.

"Where are you taking me?" Mai shouted as Seto continued to drag her along the beach. Mai tried kicked and flailed her arms around wildly earning her a drop onto the sand and a kick in the side.

Seto could feel the hunger was getting stronger, but he would take care of that soon enough. He picked up Mai who was screaming in pain and slung her over his shoulder.

"Please, let me go." Mai cried out pitifly as the waves around Seto's waist and splashed against her face. Seto snorted and dropped her into the water. "I'll go anything you want, name it. Just please don't kill me."

"I have no pity for you, your life ended the moment you decided to harm what was mine," Seto replied coldly while Mai struggled to keep her head above the rising tide. Seto smiled coldly, sat down beside Mai and willed the change to occour. "And among my kind, that is one of the most unforgivable sins you can commit."

In the blink of an eye, Seto's skin became bone white with delicate lines of blue marbling though it. Long spines surrounded by thin membrains made of skin sprouted from his arms while his fingers grew long and spindly as webs of translucent skin formed between them. His legs fused into a long and curvy tail and his eyes became a deep pool of dark blue.

Mai's eyes widened to the point they had trouble saying in their sockets. She simply sat there unable to move or speak, as Seto reached forward with his webbed hands and pulled up her chin to expose her neck.

Seto bit into Mai's neck and ended her life before she had a chance to scream. Her hot blood spurted over Seto and into the water but he didn't notice that. The hunger had taken over and he went through the motions of satisfying it.

Seto stopped his reminiscing to pull out a folded note card and twirl it in his hands idly. In it was one of the last traces of Mai Kujaku, a trophy of sorts for himself. When they did find the head, and Seto had made sure that it would turn up, he would cut out the article and put into the scrapbook with his other special kills.

"Hey Kaiba, is that a love letter or something?" Honda hissed from his seat two desks from Seto. Seto turned his head and gave him a brief glare before putting the card back in its hiding place in his notebook.

"Is your own love life so pathetically barren that you have to delve into mine?" Seto hissed back while putting away his books for lunch. Honda sputters angrily for a few moments before taking off to meet his friends.

"No, I'm sorry Jounouchi I don't have any openings for you right now." Mark Bruin heard Hajime Tanaka say irritably as he sat at his desk reviewing the employee files.

As president of The Quality Staffing Company, he was responsible for ensuring that his client's needs were met. Last night, Seto Kaiba had once again ordered a disposable worker to be sent to his house. Bruin knew that whomever he sent would never be heard from again and had no qualms doing so.

Gozaburo Kaiba had set Bruin up in this legitimate business ten years ago as a reward for doing so much of the then-CEO's dirty work. This company, in fact was intended to be little more than a front for Kaiba to hide his murderous habit. Bruin however, had surprised his old employer by turning the agency into a moderate success.

"Look, Tanaka-san I need another job. With my old man gone, I don't know how I'm going to pay the rent." Bruin heard Jounouchi plead and decided to dig up his file.

"No, we are already taking enough risk with your current job as it is. I do not have any positions for you." Tanaka replied irritably and began stalking down the hallway and Bruin heard someone follow him, possibly Jounouchi.

Bruin opened Jounouchi's file and read it quickly. Katsuya Jounouchi, age seventeen, had been working with them for seven months with a decent work record. He lived with a father whose disability wasn't enough to support both their living expenses and his alcohol and gambling habits.

If Jounouchi had lost his father, would it be easy to convince the police that the boy had gone to a big costal city, far away from Domino, to look for work to sustain his independence?

Bruin smiled as he pressed the button to the intercom, thankful that he'd found his sacrifice so easily. "Jounouchi Katsuya, please report to my office. Again, Jounouchi Katsuya please report to Bruin's office immediately.

"Um, Kaiba-kun." Yugi asked standing nervously before Seto's desk and fiddling with his puzzle. "You haven't seen Jounouchi-kun around have you?"

"No, have you tried the pound? That's where they keep stray dogs," Seto answered mockingly. Yugi frowned and turned to go talk with his friends on the way back to class.

Seto watched Yugi's group with irritation. He just knew that they would interfere in his attempts to claim Jounouchi for himself. Before Seto could think about the matter any further though, his cell phone rang. A look at the screen told Seto that the call was from Bruin.

"You found someone?" Seto asked even though he knew that Bruin would not be calling unless he had found his newest victim.

"Yes a nice young man just out of high school, no smoking, no drugs, a perfect specimen." Bruin said in a slightly cheerful voice before he started to cough again.

"Fine, send him over tomorrow afternoon and I'll take care of the rest." Seto answered and then hung up. Once he got home, Seto would tell Mokuba that everything was set for his next feeding.

Jounouchi threw the last bag of cans and bottles into the dumpster. It had taken him five trips to get all the trash out of the apartment, mainly due to the fact that all he had to work with were those small bags you get while shopping. Jounouchi had been trying to keep himself busy all day, knowing that he would start crying again if he didn't. Every time Jounouchi paused for a moment, the image of his father lying on the cold, metal slab entered his mind and he felt faint again.

Jounouchi had to be strong because there was no other alternative. With his father dead, the meager disability that was used to pay the rent and utilities was gone and what little he earned delivering papers and chopping up fish in the back of midrange restaurants was not going to make ends meet. Fortunately Bruin, the head of the agency that Jou had been doing odd jobs for, had given him a job in town. So for now, Jounouchi had to stay in town even though that meant the possibility of his friends finding out just how bad things had gotten for him.

Jounouchi was about to flop down onto the sofa when he noticed something out of place. There on the coffee table, lay a note reminding him to go and fill out the paperwork with the police. Jounouchi frowned at the piece of paper. He really didn't want to do that right now as it would mean having to once again deal with his father's death but he might as well go now, as tomorrow would be the last day Jounouchi could spend at school with his friends.

Bruin had told Jounouchi that the job required him to start no later than four o'clock tomorrow evening, so he would have to leave early if he didn't get the papers filed tonight.

With a weary groan, Jounouchi rose from the sofa and headed out to the police station.

"I'll go in first." Honda said as he led Yugi and Bakura to Jounouchi's apartment. They were all worried about their friend's absence from school today. Anzu had been so worried that she offered to call in and come with them, until Yugi convinced her to go to work so that she wouldn't be in any danger if something bad happened. The last time Jounouchi missed school, it was because he'd been blackmailed into rejoining his old gang and the aftermath had been less than pleasant.

Cautiously, Honda knocked on the door of Jounouchi's apartment and received no answer. He looked back at Yugi and Bakura who nodded and Honda knocked again. Like last time there was no answer.

"Maybe we should go in and see if we can find anything." Bakura suggested after Honda turned to face them.

"I don't know his dad has a bit of a temper." Yugi said nervously. He remembered what it had been like the last time they had visited Jounouchi's apartment. Honda had barely managed to duck the beer bottle the elder Jounouchi had thrown at his head as the man yelled at his son.

"What do you want to do then?" Bakura asked as he headed towards the door. "Standing out here isn't doing us any good." Bakura pushed Honda aside and turned the knob. Both Yugi and Honda watched the door with anticipation as it slid open.

"Oh my god," Honda trailed off as he looked around the empty apartment. Yugi just stood there and gaped.

"Is this bad?" Yugi asked Honda with some trepidation. Honda nodded numbly in response.

"I don't see what's wrong here." Bakura said as he walked into the apartment and looked around. True, the place did need some new paint and the furniture looked about ready to fall apart but Bakura didn't see what was so horrible about it.

"It's…clean." Yugi said as he looked around the living room.

"That's just it, this place is clean! Really, really clean." Honda began as he ran into the kitchen.

"Is this not normal?" Bakura asked Yugi who shook his head.

"I didn't get to see much of it the last time I was here, but it was a mess." Yugi said as they walked through the tidy kitchen and into a hallway that lead to three doors. "What do you think is wrong Honda? Did Jounouchi's mom come to visit or something?"

"I doubt it. From what he told me about his mom, she wouldn't go through the bother of visiting him. No, I think something bad happened. Sometimes when he gets upset Jounouchi cleans the house, especially if he has to stay close to home for some reason." Honda explained as he opened the middle door and looked inside. After a minute, Honda closed the door and opened the last door.

Seto walked out of his car to see his head butler hurry down the stairs and rush to his side.

"Young master Mokuba is in his room. He was picked up from school around lunch time today complaining of sickness." The older man announced and Seto nodded curtly.

"I will go and see him then. See that this is taken to my study so that I can work on a project when I am finished." Seto commanded as he handed his butler his trademark metal suitcase to his butler and climbed up the stairs.

Mokuba was sitting on the windowsill looking out at the pool when Seto entered his room.

"The coach pulled a surprise endurance run on us today in gym and I overdid it." Seto looked down and saw that Mokuba's hand was longer and more spindly than normal. "I barely managed to keep in this form until the car could pick me up. I hate it up here." Mokuba spat out angrily while spreading out his arms and waiving them about.

"Mokuba, you can't keep doing this." Seto replied sternly. "We cannot afford to be found out. Do not push your limits next time." At his words Mokuba hung his head and began to sniffle. Seto felt a pang of guilt as he watched Mokuba, knowing that the stress of living between worlds was wearing on his little brother.

Unfortunately, there wasn't much Seto could do, he had a mission here among the humans and couldn't leave now if he wanted to. Maybe in a few years Seto could leave but then he probably would wind up marring Kisara, not something he was looking forward to.

"It's alright Mokuba, I will call you in sick tomorrow. I've already arranged your next feeing which should arrive at four o'clock." Seto said to calm his brother down a bit.

"Really, 'Niisama?" Mokuba asked while looking up into Seto's face. Seto scoped Mokuba into his arms and carried him out into the hall.

"Yes, everything is taken care of." Seto answered while he walked down the steps and towards the pool in the backyard of the Kaiba estate.

To the untrained eye the pool looked like any other pool but it wasn't. The scent of seawater was the first thing anyone noticed out of the ordinary about it. In reality, the pool was a sanctuary for Seto and Mokuba when they wanted to be their true selves for a while. Gozaburo had built the pool originally to be a cage for Seto when he first arrived at the house. But after the older man died, Seto was able to make some changes to the pool, turning it from a holding pen into a sanctuary as well as a secret gateway into the ocean. The deep end had a holographic disguise for the slide away floor, which in turn lead to a very comfortable living area below and a series of locks that allowed Seto and Mokuba access to the sea without leaving them vulnerable to attack.

Mokuba wiggled out of Seto's arms and walked the last fifty feet to the pool by himself. He then stripped off his clothes and jumped into the pool.

"Are you going to join me 'Niisama?" Mokuba asked as he looked at his brother pleadingly.

"Alright but only for a little while." Seto answered with a small smile. He then stripped off his own clothes and joined Mokuba in the pool. It was nice to be able to just be himself even if it was only for a few minutes. In a way, Seto was a little sad that tomorrow things would have to return to normal once Mokuba finished eating his victim.

Part of Seto wished that Mokuba could have stayed in their homeland, and not have had to have his innocence tainted while another part of him was thankful that Mokuba hadn't left him and remained with him. Not only did Mokuba keep him company, but he also made sure that Seto never forgot his reason for staying in the land of the humans.

/After tomorrow, I will have a little more time to find a way to make things better for us both. / Seto thought as he began to chase Mokuba around the pool, leaving all other thoughts out of his mind.

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

Hidden Lives, Uncovered Truths: Chapter Three

By: OtakuJeannie

Rating: MA

Warnings: Violence, gore, Shonen ai/Yaoi, mentioned Het. Character death

Pairings: Jounouchi/Mai, Seto/Jounouchi

Summery: When Jounouchi's luck hits rock bottom, he accidentally discovers a secret of Seto's. Will his luck change, or will he suffer an even more horrible fate?

Notes: A special thanks to Mom of Fluff and Fluffier for the bunnie and all of her help. C&C is encouraged and appreciated.

/ Words / indicates underwater speech.

Seto woke up feeling refreshed and a little reluctant to leave the comfort of the seaweed-lined chamber. The morning light passed by in lines that traced the waves on the surface above. The 'only a little while' Seto had intended to spend had turned into the entire night, but he didn't mind. It had been quite a while since Seto had been able to spend time as his true self and also since he'd spent quality time with Mokuba. They had spent the evening racing around the hidden tunnel and darting out of the many nooks in an attempt to surprise the other. By the time they were done, Seto was too tired to change back to go to his room to sleep and decided to sleep here instead.

Seto looked around for Mokuba and saw the swaying tips of his brother's dark hair to his right. Seto smiled before snaking the end of his tail into the tall weeds and smacking the sleeping boy lightly.

/Oh/ Mokuba cried out in surprise as his head rose above the seaweed. /Is it morning already/ the younger boy asked with a yawn.

/Yes and I have to go to school now./ Seto answered with a tinge of regret. /Don't leave here until your meal comes later, understood/

/Yes 'Niisama./ Mokuba said groggily before settling down to sleep some more. Seto smiled at his brother fondly and swam towards the surface and another day at school.

Jounouchi ran down the street with his left hand clenched around his book bag and the hastily made bacon, egg and toast sandwich that was his breakfast in his right. He'd spent half the night crying and hadn't gotten to sleep until about three in the morning. To make matters worse, his alarm clock had chosen this morning to take the day off so now Jounouchi had to rush to get to school on time for once.

Jounouchi sped towards Domino High while reminding himself of the story he was going to tell the other so they wouldn't come looking for him. Jounouchi knew that if Yugi and the rest would want to help but nothing could be done about it now. He couldn't stay with any of his friends. Honda's house was already overcrowded since his older sister and her family had to stay there, as they could not find an apartment of their own. Jounouchi knew for a fact that Yugi's mother didn't like him one bit as she always scowled in his direction when he visited. Anzu's parents, on the other hand, looked as if they expected him to start molesting their precious daughter the moment they blinked. As for Bakura, somehow Jounouchi doubted that the spirit of the ring would be less than pleased if he were to live with them. Finaly, Otougi had to deal with his psycho father all the time so he couldn't help even if he wanted to.

Seto strode through the halls of Domino High, taking care not to let his apparent haste show. While Seto doubted that the teacher would dare to mark him with a tardy, he still did want to appear so unprofessional. He had barely taken his seat and was reaching in his ever-present metal suitcase for a book when the door opened again.

"So what happened last night man? We were worried sick about you." Seto heard Honda say as he entered the room accompanied by Jounouchi and Yugi. Anzu and Bakura followed behind them as well. Seto listened to them with interest as he opened his book to a random page and stared at it. It appeared that something was up with the blonde duelist.

"Yes, Honda bit off all of his fingernails while we waited at your apartment for you to return." Bakura noted as he walked to his usual seat.

"Well, you see it's like this guys." Jounouchi began nervously hoping that neither his friends not their magic Senien Items would detect his lies. "Last night there was a call saying that there was a death in the family."

"How awful!" Anzu exclaimed as she clamped her hands over her mouth.

"Shinzuka's alright isn't she?" Honda asked in horror.

"She's fine, buddy." Jounouchi reassured Honda before continuing. "Any ways, as I was saying we got a call and I need to leave town for a while." Jounouchi continued with growing confidence. Even the Shadow magic Bakura and Atem used would find it hard to find the lie if he only told them part of the truth.

"But why Jounouchi-kun?" Yugi asked with a slightly hurt expression on his face. Somehow his friend's story didn't add up quite and the spirit that shared his body seemed to agree.

"Yugi's right Jounouchi, midterms are in two weeks. You can't have enough time to adjust and do well on the exams. At least wait until then." Anzu replied scoldingly as she went to her seat.

"Yeah, you can wait until then right? We'll even throw you a big going away party then." Honda said as he clapped Jounouchi on the back and headed towards his seat.

Yugi looked uneasily at Jounouchi for a moment and then reluctantly dropped his gaze to the floor.

"We'll talk about this at lunch alright, Yugi." Jounouchi said guiltily before sliding into his own seat. Seto frowned and put his book away to listen as the teacher began his lessen.

Jounouchi felt the uncomfortable sensation like someone was watching him all through class. It was bad enough that the blonde boy couldn't concentrate without seeing his father lying in a drawer in the morgue with his chest and the back of his head smashed in. But Jounouchi didn't want to think about that now nor about how the stench of embalming fluid and decay hung over the sterile room, with its stainless steal tables splattered with blood and bleach white walls and floors. Now he was getting paranoid for no reason. If either the spirit of the puzzle or the ring had suspected that Jou had been lying, they would have said something by now. Maybe in a few months, when things were settled, Jounouchi could tell his friends the truth but for now all he was able to do was join his friends for the last normal lunch for quite a while.

Yugi walked down to the lunchroom with Bakura. He waited until Jounouchi was out of sight before talking to his friend.

"Do you think something is up with Jounouchi too?" Yugi began in a low whisper to his pale-haired friend.

"Both of us think so." Bakura said with a nod to the Sennien ring, which flashed to accent his words. Yugi frowned at his friend's words and decided to concentrate on Jounouchi for the time being.

Behind them, Seto listened to the two with growing interest. For a brief second, Seto feared that pushing Mai into leaving Jounouchi had hurt his crush but decided that the best thing to do would be to arrange an 'accidental' meeting with Jounouchi after he saw to Mokuba's feeding.

Mokuba swam through the hidden tunnel of the pool feeling rather bored. There wasn't anything interesting to do now that Seto was away at school. All that was in the tunnel was some rocks and a few scattered patches of seaweed, as Seto refused to keep any fishes or other creatures for fear that they would attract suspicion from any guests the Kaibacorp might have to host.

Mokuba reached the lock that separated the tunnel from the ocean and was tempted to just go out into the ocean despite Seto's warning not to. Mokuba eyed the door intently inching closer so that his long fingers could press the buttons to let him out, when he thought about how worried Seto would be to find his brother missing. Mokuba sighed regretfully, he knew how much Seto had sacrificed for his safety and how hard he had fought the elders to get them to allow Mokuba to stay with him as he kept the humans form discovering their city. To leave the tunnel would be saying to Seto that Mokuba didn't appreciate what he had done. So with a heavy heart, Mokuba swam away from the gate and went to nap in a patch of seaweed far from temptation.

Jounouchi never thought the day would come when he would dread hearing the bell signaling the end of classes. But today was different for it was the end of a normal life for Jounouchi.

Yugi walked up to Jounouchi, probably wanting to question him since he'd managed to avoid answering him during lunch. He smiled at his short friend, muttered some excuses about having to go to the office and headed towards the door before Yugi could respond.

On the way to the door, Jounouchi ran directly into Seto Kaiba who wore a puzzled expression. Jou felt his cheeks burn as he became aware of the body right next to his and stood there pressing against the brunet a little longer than appropriate. Then with a jump, Jounouchi stepped away from Seto and hurried out of the door.

Seto had turned around in time to have Jounouchi plow right into him. Seto barely had time for his mind to process the fact that the blonde's face was less than an inch from his own or the look of fear in his eyes when Jounouchi stepped back and rushed from the room. Dumbly, he blinked and looked at the astounded faces of Yugi, Honda and Bakura. Anzu frowned thoughtfully at Seto, perhaps piecing together the truth.

"The mongrel needs to watch were he's going." Seto growled out loudly and retreated out of the door in a huff. As he left, Seto could hear his classmates speculate about what had just happened. He could tell that the encounter had left them confused, as well as himself. Jounouchi never passed up the chance to fight with the young CEO, but today the blond had practically ran away from him something defiantly was up. Seto was now even more determined to find out what was up with Jounouchi once he got done with Mokuba's feeding.

"I was certain that we were going to see another fight between Jounouchi-kun and Kaiba-kun." Yugi said as he watched Seto leave the room. The other nodded in unison, all thinking the same thing.

"Well I think it's great that they didn't fight. Maybe they will get along better in the future." Anzu remarked cheerfully.

"I doubt it, Jounouchi was just distracted." Honda said while scratching his head.

"But Kaiba didn't seem to interested in starting a fight himself, odd if you ask me." The spirit of the ring rasped into Bakura's ear, making itself being heard over Anzu's statement that any start was a good start. "Something's up maybe we should investigate." The spirit of the ring suggested in a silky voice. Ryou suppressed a shudder before rasping out his reply.

"Why do you care?" Bakura asked being careful not to be heard, Yugi looked over with a surprised look in his eyes until Bakura pointed to his Senien Ring hidden beneath his shirt. Yugi nodded and tried to break up another shouting match between Honda and Anzu.

Within the Senien Puzzle, Yugi heard his other half raising questions about their blond friend's behavior.

Seto dropped his ever-present metal briefcase down onto the desk and stripped off the confining school uniform he wore to school. For a moment he felt the cool air flow over his skin as he searched for a robe. Eventually he found the cloud gray yukata that he'd bought on a trip to a hot springs resort outside of Kyoto. Seto quickly donned the robe and looked out his window at the pool. Seto guessed that Saltome was bringing whoever had the misfortune to be Mokuba's next meal to the pool now. A glance at the clock told him that it was five minutes after four. Seto scowled, he hated it when his employees were late.

Out of the window, Seto saw two figures walk up the path to the pool. Suddenly, Seto noticed the shorter figures hair. As they came closer, Seto remembered what Bruin had told him.

"A nice young man just out of high school, no smoking, no drugs, a perfect specimen." Bruin had said smugly and Jounouchi had headed towards the office once class was over instead of to the cafeteria for a candy bar before walking home with Yugi. A feeling of cold dread washed over Seto as he watched his gardener bring the blonde youth, who he was sure was Jounouchi, into the inner yard. Seto then sprang to his feet and ran to the door, he had to get to Jounouchi before Mokuba did.

Jounouchi could not fight the feeling that he had been here before as he followed a guy whose resemblance to a weasel was uncanny. They passed through a gate that led to a large, sparkling pool surrounded by a wall, presumably for privacy. But why would anyone need a privacy wall in an estate like this one?

"The pool supplies are this way, your first task will be to get all of the leaves and grass out of the pool." the weasel replied as he lead Jounouchi to a shed near a large pool.

"Oh, ok." Jounouchi replied, now getting nervous about the job. Bruin told him yesterday that he would be doing some landscaping and pool cleaning for a large estate just outside of Domino City. Jounouchi hoped that the people he was going to work for were not as crazy or mean as the few rich people he had met. If they were, Jounouchi doubted that he could keep his temper in check, despite all that depended on this job.

"Make sure that you get the bottom of the pool too, there have been a lot of rocks and on the bottom." Jounouchi heard the man say as a long-handled net was placed into his hands and he was ushered to pool.

Jounouchi noticed a few maple leaves floating on the surface and several large patches of grass on the bottom of the pool. This job would take a few minutes at the most.

"Umm...so what do I do with the leaves and stuff when I get them out?" Jounouchi asked as he scratched his head. The weasel-guy looked at Jou oddly and muttered something about getting a bucket.

Jounouchi stood beside the pool now getting worried something was odd here. Why were they so interested in him cleaning out the pool if they didn't have anywhere for the debris to go? Jounouchi smelled a set up and vowed to make Bruin regret sending him here once he got out of here, if he got out of there.

Seto ran down the steps of the mansion two at a time in his haste to get to Jounouchi before it was too late. He flung open the back door and sprinted down the path that lead to the pool.

"Jounouchi, stop." Seto called out in desperation as he raced towards the blonde.

"What's going on here?" Jounouchi asked as the weasel man returned with a bucket.

"What are you going on about?" Weasel asked Jounouchi.

"What is really going on? I wasn't hired here just to clean the pool and trim the hedges, am I?" Jounouchi demanded holding up the pole, ready to strike at any moment.

"Hmm, not bad." The weasel said in an amused tone of voice. It was rare for any of Kaiba's sacrifices to actually figure out what was going on before they died.

"What do you mean by thahh!" Jounouchi cried out in surprise as he was pushed into the pool. He glared up at his attacker and grabbed onto the edge of the pool, ready to hoist himself out of the water until he felt something grab his leg. While he was distracted, Jounouchi felt the shoed foot stomp down on his head. Instinctively, Jounouchi's hands went to cover his head and he felt something pull him under. Through the chaos Jounouchi swore that he heard someone shouting his name.

Seto cursed as his legs gave out beneath him and he fell on to the gravel path. Barely giving the pain and scrapes as he watched Jounouchi's blond hair disappear from view. Tanaka, his head of landscaping turned around looking rather pleased with himself. Kaiba let out a growl as he threw open the gate and rushed past the stunned man and dove into the water. Mokuba might like to play with his victims a little, but time was running out for Seto to save Jounouchi.

Jounouchi struggled against the thing that was pulling him deeper underwater. It hadn't seemed this deep when he was looking at it from the surface. Something sharp was digging into his sides and the lack of air was becoming painful. Jounouchi continued his struggle against the vice-like grip around his torso until he felt it loosen slightly. With the last ounce of his energy, Jounouchi kicked free and swam desperately to the surface.

Jounouchi's fingers broke the surface of the water, but before Jounouchi could bring his head above for air, something grabbed on to his ankle and began to drag him down again. Sharp teeth sunk into Jounouchi's ankle and he yelped in pain, loosing valuable air. A shadow fell over Jounouchi and the world started to blur.

/Mokuba…Don't/ Seto called out as he saw his brother drag Jounouchi down to the tunnel. Seto noted with dread that Jounouchi wasn't moving, a bad sign, Mokuba looked at his brother on confusion.

/'Nisama/ Mokuba asked, releasing his grip on Jounouchi. Seto rushed to the blond and pulled him to the surface. Jounouchi gasped for air and then fainted. Seto held on to the blonde as he swam the both of them to the side and lifted him onto the surface. Seto glanced back to see confusion and hurt in Mokuba's eyes as he watch the two of them. Seto looked from the unconscious blonde and the water where Mokuba had dived under the water. He could tell from that brief glance that Mokuba was upset; so upset that trying to talk with his younger brother would be useless until he calmed down. With a reluctant sigh, Seto transformed back to normal and picked up Jounouchi.

His mind was teeming with questions as he picked up the still unconscious blonde and headed towards the mansion, ignoring the still stunned Saltome as he did so.

Mokuba was glad he was underwater, in this form he didn't have to worry about fighting back tears. Seto had decided to throw away his future, their people's future for an infatuation that could never work out. Mokuba wondered if the heavy burden Seto had born had caused his brother to loose his mind.

Overhead Mokuba heard Seto calling for him, and he made up his mind. In order to help Seto, Mokuba needed help and the only one who might be able to help him was Kisara, his intended love.

/Don't worry about me, Niisama/ Mokuba called out to his brother. /I'm going home and will be back soon./ Mokuba said as he slid his body out of the lock. Once he was in the sea, Mokuba began the long swim home.

Seto carried Jounouchi to the mansion, gazing lovingly at the blonde, trying hard not to listen to the voice in his head telling to claim his prize now. But the main part of Seto's mind was more preoccupied with trying to figure out how Jounouchi had been selected to be Mokuba's prey.

Seto had told Bruin repeatedly that the victims that he sent over should be people who would not be missed.

Seto doubted that he would be able to withstand repeated murder investigations especially with teenagers being the target audience of Kaiba Corp. Bruin was not the sort of man who would go against Seto's wishes like that. For a moment, Seto wondered if Jounouchi had somehow said something to make Bruin belive he was disposable.

Honda was walking towards Jounouchi's apartment. He wasn't pleased that his friend had been acting so oddly and wanted a chance to talk with him without Yugi being present. As close as the both of them were, Honda knew that there were still some things that Jounouchi did not want to talk about with Yugi. With seeing the apartment last night and Jounouchi acting so strangely today during school, Honda was sure that something was up.

He let himself into the apartment, noting how quiet everything was. Once again the house was spotless, which worried Honda more than the fact that no one seemed home. The last time the house was anywhere near this clean was when Jounouchi was worried about going to jail for manslaughter. Honda remembered those horrible days, before Jounouchi decided to reform and quit the gang.

Honda's eyes went wide. Of course, that must be what was up. Hirutani must have tried once again to force Jounouchi to return to the gang. And knowing Jou, Honda knew that his friend would want to take care of this without worrying his friends. Now that he knew that Honda headed out the door and towards the Kame Game Store to tell Yugi what he knew.

Seto wound a bandage around Jounouchi's left foot, trying to get the bleeding to stop as he eyed the wounds with a mixture of pride and worry. Mokuba had bitten deeply into Jounouchi's ankle and it would take some time before he would be able to walk on it, thankfully though it didn't appear to need medical attention. If Jounouchi needed some attention, Seto would be hard-pressed to find a discreet doctor.

The blonde was still asleep and showed no signs of waking, for which Seto was grateful. He wasn't in a mood to answer any of the awkward questions that were sure to be asked once Jounouchi woke up.

Seto reluctantly let Jounouchi's ankle fall from his hands. Jounouchi looked so peaceful as he lay on the bed that Seto was tempted to climb besides the blonde. 'What would be wrong with having some company, on this lonely night,' a part of Seto's mind whispered temptingly as the brunette unfolded a sheet in order to cover the blonde with.

"Should I?" Seto asked even as most of him practically screamed, "YES!" and Seto was finding it hard to resist the urge to join Jounouchi in bed.

TBC

Yeah I'm evil.

Dark Magician of Chaos- I'm trying to write quickly and glad you enjoy.

Darkwich 17 - I will try to be quicker, but Rl can be quite presistant

Dragon master- Vampire eh, not quite. But the Kaiba brothersdo need human flesh to get by.

Takyo I'm glad you like my fick and you'll find out what they are soon enough.

Jou-Pup - Congrats you are the closest guess yet. You kind words make me blush and thank you so much. I hope you like the new chappy. Jounouchi has arrived at the mansion. It looks like he's in for a long stay..or is he?...


	4. Chapter 4

Hidden Lives, Uncovered Truths 4

Author: Otaku Jeannie

Rating: T

Pairings: Seto/Jou, Spoilers: Can't think of any.

Disclaimer: Not mine. Not now, not ever.

Summary: When Jounouchi's life hits rock bottom he finds out about Seto's secret will his luck change or will he succumb to an even worse fate?

Seto banged irritably on the keys of his laptop computer as he struggled to focus on the screen and not the distraction just a mere five feet away. He'd reluctantly decided against climbing into bed with Jounouchi, concerned that it might cause difficulties in the relationship Seto hoped to start with the blonde. Once he calmed down Jounouchi and explained to him about things, perhaps.

Seto looked up to see that Jounouchi was still in a deep slumber sprawled comfortably over the guest room bed clad in nothing but a sheet. Seto smiled fondly and returned to his typing. He would have to work late tonight if he was going to spend the day nursing the sick Mokuba back to health, or so he needed the school board to believe while he searched for another disposable human for his brother. Seto would also need to see about replacing Bruin and getting rid of the files the old man would no doubt have as a buffer against this happening.

A low moan brought Seto out of his thoughts and he looked over at Jounouchi to see the blond thrashing across the bed. Seto noticed with dread the blood seeping though the bandage over his ankle. Without a second thought, Seto got up from the desk he'd been working at, rushed over to the bed and grabbed the ankle to hold it still only to receive a kick from Jounouchi's other foot. Seto grabbed both of Jounuchi's feet and held them still before climbing over the still thrashing blonde and straddling his legs.

"Jounouchi!" Seto called out sharply, causing the blond to bolt upright. Seto found the closeness to be overwhelming and he inched his face closer.

"Huh? Wha? I'm alive?" Jounouchi murmured as he suddenly found himself face-to-face with Seto Kaiba. Jounouchi lay there for a moment unable to move, finding the way Seto was looking at him thrilling, like something out of those dreams the blond had but never admitted to while awake. Seto took advantage of Jounouchi's state and kissed the other boy lightly on the lips.

After the kiss to Seto's dismay, Jounouchi tried to bolt backwards. "What the?" Jounouchi exclaimed, immediately before trying to push the body on top of him off.

"Calm down, you'll aggravate your injuries!" Seto ordered, gambling that the blonde would obey first and think later. Jounouchi stopped struggling and Seto had to reluctantly get off of Jounouchi and settle for sitting next to him.

"What are you doing here?" Jounouchi asked in a mix of fear and anger. Seto felt slightly uncomfortable as he thought about exactly why Jounouchi was there, he wasn't about to tell the blonde that he'd been hired to be Mokuba's next meal.

"It was a mistake that you were brought into this, "Seto began carefully gauging Jounouchi's reactions, his eyes had gone wide and all the color drained from the blond's face.

"What are you talking about?" Jounouchi demanded his nerves obviously shot. "That I saw something I shouldn't have and now you're going to get rid of me." Jounouchi continued, on the edge of hysteria. Seto had no doubt that Jounouchi had linked the fact that he was in Seto's house with what had happened at the pool.

In an effort to stop Jounouchi from becoming completely hysterical, Seto placed his hand on Jounouchi's chest, reveling momentarily in the feeling of his firm muscles under supple skin beneath his fingers before pressing down with all of his might. Jounouchi gasped in surprised and tried to get up, surprised at the brunette's strength.

"If I had wanted you dead, I wouldn't have bothered to rescue you." Seto replied coldly bringing his face closer to Jounouchi's. Jounouchi stop struggling but watched him with wary eyes. For a moment of tense silence fell over the two boys.

"So what now?" Jounouchi asked stiffly, his already frayed nerves about to give way. The way Kaiba kept looking at Jounouchi was really unsettling him. Jounouchi wasn't sure if Kaiba wanted to fuck him or have him killed so he could get rid of the evidence, maybe both.

Seto knew he shouldn't be surprised by Jounouchi's suspicion but it still stung anyway. Seto needed a way to get Jounouchi to lower his guard.

"I am going to get some dinner, it took you long enough to wake up so I could ensure there was no perminate damage." Seto replied neutrally. "I will be back shortly, don't move around too much or you'll make your wounds worse."

* * *

No sooner had Seto left the room when Jounouchi began to franticly search the room for a way to escape. Everything was going crazy and Jounouchi wanted to get away from it all; Mai's stinging rejection, his dad's untimely end, the thing that had nearly killed him and now here he was alone in a room with Seto Kaiba who was acting strangely.

He immediately tried to jump to his feet, only to collapse again due to the pain in his right ankle. For what seemed like an eternity, Jounouchi lay helpless on the floor waiting for the pain to subside before trying once again to walk.

"I told you to stay put." Seto's voice rang out from somewhere behind Jounouchi. The blond scrambled for an excuse.

"I had to take a leak and didn't feel like wetting the bed." Jounouchi bluffed. Seto merely stood back and watched the blond unashamedly sprawled out on the carpeted floor, completely naked.

"Good to know you're housebroken." Seto replied playfully, glad that in his current position, Jounouchi couldn't see that he was ogling the blonde.

"Cut it out, I ain't a dog." Jounouchi shot back turning around. Seto quickly schooled his face back into its customary unreadable expression, still taking in Jounouchi naked skin.

Jounouchi glared at Seto who smirked and walked over to the bed, placing the tray he'd been carrying on the bed. The brunette then walked over to where Jounouchi still lay and offered the blond his hand. Jounouchi's eyed Seto's hand suspiciously for a moment then reluctantly took it.

Seto was slightly off put by Jounouchi's attitude but probably figured that he was simply nursing a brushed ego after being dumped. Without a word Seto helped Jounouchi back onto the bed, silently glad that the blonde didn't seem to notice or care that he was still nude.

"Thanks Kaiba." Jounouchi said when the other boy offered him a sandwich. He hated being so helpless and confused but for right now, there didn't seem to be any choice in the matter. So Jounouchi decided to play along with Kaiba for now and see what the other boy had up his sleeve. Maybe while he was at it Kaiba would be nice enough to lend him some clothes so he wouldn't have to keep hiding his embarrassment.

* * *

Ryou knew that the spirit that inhabited his body was up to no good. The thief had been muttering about this and that all afternoon (though Ryou was certain that he wasn't aware of an audience) and he'd nearly blacked out twice already.

Ryou didn't know who to turn to for help; Yugi was too busy worrying about Jounouchi while Malik and Rashid were off in Europe with Isis with a traveling exhibit. All of Ryou's other friends would not be able to control his other half (Well maybe Honda would be able to, but Ryou didn't want to deal with the possible long term effects of being physically knocked out constantly.).

Almost if spurred by this thought, Ryou felt the pull of the spirit within him. He felt the world narrow into a tunnel as he was pulled into the darkness of his mind and the thief king took over his body.

TBC:

Yeah I know all that wait for such a short chapter, I'm evil. I'll be cleaning up this fic and probably do some editing. I just wanted to get back into the groove so to speak.


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